Taishō era

Period of Japanese history from 1912 to 1926

"Taishō" redirects here. For other uses, see Taishō (disambiguation).

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|

Taishō

30 July 1912 – 25 December 1926

Emperor Taishō (1900)

Location| Japan
Including|

* Taishō Democracy
* World War I
* Siege of Tsingtao
* Allied occupation of German New Guinea
* Japanese occupation of German colonial possessions
* Occupation of Istanbul
* Japanese intervention in Siberia
* Great Kantō earthquake

Monarch(s)| Taishō
Chronology
|  Meiji | Shōwa

|

Part of a series on the

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| Paleolithic| 35,000–14,000 BC

|

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| 1000 BC–300 AD

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| 300–538 AD

|

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* Taika Reform
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| 538–710

|

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| 710–794

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| 794–1185

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* Jōkyū War
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| 1185–1333

|

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| 1336–1573

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| 1603–1868

|

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| 1868–1912

|

Taishō

* Taishō Democracy
* World War I
* Intervention in Siberia
* Great Kantō earthquake

| 1912–1926
Shōwa

* Militarism
* Financial crisis
* Invasion of Manchuria
* May 15 incident
* February 26 incident
* Anti-Comintern Pact
* Second Sino-Japanese War
* World War II
* Attack on Pearl Harbor
* Pacific War
* Atomic bombings
* Soviet–Japanese War
* Surrender of Japan
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* Postwar Japan
* Anpo protests
* Economic miracle
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| 1926–1989

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* Lost Decades
* Great Hanshin earthquake
* Cool Japan
* Tōhoku earthquake
* Imperial transition

| 1989–2019

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| 2019–present

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The Taishō era (大正時代, Taishō jidai, [taiɕoː dʑidai] ⓘ) was a period in the history of Japan dating from 30 July 1912 to 25 December 1926, coinciding with the reign of Emperor Taishō.[1] The new emperor was a sickly man, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of elder statesmen (or genrō) to the Imperial Diet of Japan and the democratic parties. Thus, the era is considered the time of the liberal movement known as Taishō Democracy; it is usually distinguished from the preceding chaotic Meiji era and the following militaristic-driven first part of the Shōwa era.[2]

## Etymology

[edit]

The two kanji characters in Taishō (大正) were from a passage of the Classical Chinese I Ching: 大亨以正 天之道也 (translated: "Great prevalence is achieved through rectitude, and this is the Dao of Heaven.")[3] The term could be roughly understood as meaning "great rectitude", or "great righteousness".

## Meiji legacy

[edit]

Emperor Taishō in 1912 The Japan Times front page about the coronation of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei (15 September 1915) Map of the Empire of Japan in November 1918

On 30 July 1912, Emperor Meiji died and Crown Prince Yoshihito succeeded to the throne as Emperor of Japan. In his coronation address, the newly enthroned Emperor announced his reign's nengō (era name) Taishō, meaning "great righteousness".[4]

The end of the Meiji period was marked by huge government, domestic, and overseas investments and defense programs, nearly exhausted credit, and a lack of foreign reserves to pay debts. The influence of Western culture experienced in the Meiji period also continued. Notable artists, such as Kobayashi Kiyochika, adopted Western painting styles while continuing to work in ukiyo-e; others, such as Okakura Kakuzō, kept an interest in traditional Japanese painting. Authors such as Mori Ōgai studied in the West, bringing back with them to Japan different insights on human life influenced by developments in the West.

The events following the Meiji Restoration in 1868 had seen not only the fulfillment of many domestic and foreign economic and political objectives—without Japan suffering the colonial fate of other Asian nations—but also a new intellectual ferment, in a time when there was worldwide interest in communism and socialism and an urban proletariat was developing. Universal male suffrage, social welfare, workers' rights, and nonviolent protests were ideals of the early leftist movement.[citation needed] Government suppression of leftist activities, however, led to more radical leftist action and even more suppression, resulting in the dissolution of the Japan Socialist Party (日本社会党, Nihon Shakaitō) only a year after its founding and general failure of the socialist movement in 1906.[citation needed]

The beginning of the Taishō period was marked by the Taishō political crisis in 1912–13 that interrupted the earlier politics of compromise. When Saionji Kinmochi tried to cut the military budget, the army minister resigned, bringing down the Rikken Seiyūkai cabinet. Both Yamagata Aritomo and Saionji refused to resume office, and the genrō were unable to find a solution. Public outrage over the military manipulation of the cabinet and the recall of Katsura Tarō for a third term led to still more demands for an end to genrō politics. Despite old guard opposition, the conservative forces formed a party of their own in 1913, the Rikken Dōshikai, a party that won a majority in the House over the Seiyūkai in late 1914.

On February 12, 1913, Yamamoto Gonnohyōe succeeded Katsura as prime minister. In April 1914, Ōkuma Shigenobu replaced Yamamoto.

Crown Prince Yoshihito married Sadako Kujō on 10 May 1900. Their coronation took place on November 11, 1915.

## World War I and hegemony in China

[edit]

Main article: Japan during World War I

Japanese occupation of the Russian city of Khabarovsk during the Russian Civil War, 1919

World War I permitted Japan, which fought on the side of the victorious Allied Powers, to expand its influence in Asia and its territorial holdings in the north equatorial Pacific. Japan declared war on Germany on August 23, 1914, and quickly occupied German-leased territories in China's Shandong and the Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall islands in the north Pacific Ocean. On November 7, Jiaozhou surrendered to Japan.

With its Western allies heavily involved in the war in Europe, Japan sought further to consolidate its position in China by presenting the Twenty-One Demands (Japanese: 対華二十一ヶ条要求; Chinese: 二十一条) to the Government in January 1915. Besides expanding its control over German holdings, Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, Japan also sought joint ownership of a major mining and metallurgical complex in central China, prohibitions on China's ceding or leasing any coastal areas to a third power, and miscellaneous other political, economic and military controls, which, if achieved, would have reduced China to a Japanese protectorate. In the face of slow negotiations with the Chinese government, widespread anti-Japanese sentiment in China and international condemnation forced Japan to withdraw the final group of demands and treaties were signed in May of 1915.

Japan's hegemony in northern China and other parts of Asia was facilitated through other international agreements. One with Russia in 1916 helped further secure Japan's influence in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, and agreements with France, Britain, and the United States in 1917 recognized Japan's territorial gains in China and the north Pacific. The Nishihara Loans (named after Nishihara Kamezo, Tokyo's representative in Beijing) of 1917 and 1918, while aiding the Chinese government, put China still deeper into Japan's debt. Toward the end of the war, Japan increasingly filled orders for its European allies' needed war material, thus helping to diversify the country's industry, increase its exports, and transform Japan from a debtor to a creditor nation for the first time.

Japan's power in Asia grew following the collapse of the Imperial Russian government in 1917 after the Russian Revolution. Wanting to seize the opportunity, the Japanese army planned to occupy Siberia as far west as Lake Baikal. To do so, Japan had to negotiate an agreement with China allowing the transit of Japanese troops through Chinese territory. Although the force was scaled back to avoid antagonizing the United States, more than 70,000 Japanese troops joined the much smaller units of the Allied expeditionary force sent to Siberia in July 1918 as part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War.

On October 9, 1916, Terauchi Masatake took over as prime minister from Ōkuma Shigenobu. On November 2, 1917, the Lansing–Ishii Agreement noted the recognition of Japan's interests in China and pledges of keeping an "Open Door Policy" (門戸開放政策). From July to September 1918, rice riots erupted due to increasing price of rice. The large scale rioting and collapse of public order led to the end of Terauchi Masatake government.

## Japan after World War I: Taishō Democracy

[edit]

1920 photo with a view of the Mitsubishi headquarters in Marunouchi, looking towards the Imperial Palace

The postwar era brought Japan unprecedented prosperity.[citation needed] Japan went to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference as one of the great military and industrial powers of the world and received official recognition as one of the "Big Five" nations of the new international order.[5] Tokyo was granted a permanent seat on the Council of the League of Nations and the peace treaty confirmed the transfer to Japan of Germany's rights in Shandong, a provision that led to anti-Japanese riots and a mass political movement throughout China. Similarly, Germany's former north Pacific islands were put under a Japanese mandate. Japan was also involved in the post-war Allied intervention in Russia and was the last Allied power to withdraw (doing so in 1925). Despite its small role in World War I and the Western powers' rejection of its bid for a racial equality clause in the peace treaty, Japan emerged as a major actor in international politics at the close of the war.

The two-party political system that had been developing in Japan since the turn of the century came of age after World War I, gave rise to the nickname for the period, "Taishō Democracy". In 1918, Hara Takashi, a protégé of Saionji and a major influence in the prewar Seiyūkai cabinets, had become the first commoner to serve as prime minister. He took advantage of long-standing relationships he had throughout the government, won the support of the surviving genrō and the House of Peers, and brought into his cabinet as army minister Tanaka Giichi, who had a greater appreciation of favorable civil-military relations than his predecessors. Nevertheless, major problems confronted Hara: inflation, the need to adjust the Japanese economy to postwar circumstances, the influx of foreign ideas, and an emerging labor movement. Prewar solutions were applied by the cabinet to these postwar problems, and little was done to reform the government. Hara worked to ensure a Seiyūkai majority through time-tested methods, such as new election laws and electoral redistricting, and embarked on major government-funded public works programs.[6]

The public grew disillusioned with the growing national debt and the new election laws, which retained the old minimum tax qualifications for voters. Calls were raised for universal suffrage and the dismantling of the old political party network. Students, university professors, and journalists, bolstered by labor unions and inspired by a variety of democratic, socialist, communist, anarchist, and other Western schools of thought, mounted large but orderly public demonstrations in favor of universal male suffrage in 1919 and 1920.[citation needed] New elections brought still another Seiyūkai majority, but barely so. In the political milieu of the day, there was a proliferation of new parties, including socialist and communist parties.

In the midst of this political ferment, Hara was assassinated by a disenchanted railroad worker in 1921. Hara was followed by a succession of nonparty prime ministers and coalition cabinets. Fear of a broader electorate, left-wing power, and the growing social change engendered by the influx of Western popular culture together led to the passage of the Peace Preservation Law in 1925, which forbade any change in the political structure or the abolition of private property.

In 1921, during the Interwar period, Japan developed and launched the Hōshō, which was the first purpose-designed aircraft carrier in the world.[7][a] Japan subsequently developed a fleet of aircraft carriers that was second to none.

Unstable coalitions and divisiveness in the Diet led the Kenseikai (憲政会, Constitutional Government Association) and the Seiyū Hontō (政友本党, True Seiyūkai) to merge as the Rikken Minseitō (立憲民政党, Constitutional Democratic Party) in 1927. The Rikken Minseitō platform was committed to the parliamentary system, democratic politics, and world peace. Thereafter, until 1932, the Seiyūkai and the Rikken Minseitō alternated in power.The two-party system during this period is called "Established practices in constitutional politics(憲政の常道, Kensei no Jodo)".

Despite the political realignments and hope for more orderly government, domestic economic crises plagued whichever party held power. Fiscal austerity programs and appeals for public support of such conservative government policies as the Peace Preservation Law—including reminders of the moral obligation to make sacrifices for the emperor and the state—were attempted as solutions. While the impact of the American panic of October 1929 was still reverberating throughout the world, the Japanese government lifted the gold embargo at the old parity in January 1930. These two blows struck the Japanese economy simultaneously, and the country was plunged into a severe depression.[8] There was a sense of rising discontent that was heightened with the assault upon Rikken Minseitō prime minister Osachi Hamaguchi in 1930. Though Hamaguchi survived the attack and tried to continue in office despite the severity of his wounds, he was forced to resign the following year and died not long afterwards.

## Communism and socialism and the Japanese response

[edit]

The victory of the Bolsheviks in Russia in 1922 and their hopes for a world revolution led to the establishment of the Comintern. The Comintern realized the importance of Japan in achieving successful revolution in East Asia and actively worked to form the Japanese Communist Party, which was founded in July 1922. The announced goals of the Japanese Communist Party in 1923 included the unification of the working class as well as farmers, recognition of the Soviet Union, and withdrawal of Japanese troops from Siberia, Sakhalin, China, Korea, and Taiwan. In the coming years, authorities tried to suppress the party, especially after the Toranomon Incident when a radical student under the influence of Japanese Marxist thinkers tried to assassinate Prince Regent Hirohito. The 1925 Peace Preservation Law was a direct response to the perceived "dangerous thoughts" perpetrated by communist and socialist elements in Japan.

The liberalization of election laws with the General Election Law in 1925 benefited communist candidates, even though the Japan Communist Party itself was banned. A new Peace Preservation Law in 1928, however, further impeded communist efforts by banning the parties they had infiltrated. The police apparatus of the day was ubiquitous and quite thorough in attempting to control the socialist movement. By 1926, the Japan Communist Party had been forced underground, by the summer of 1929 the party leadership had been virtually destroyed, and by 1933 the party had largely disintegrated.

Pan-Asianism was characteristic of right-wing politics and conservative militarism since the inception of the Meiji Restoration, contributing greatly to the pro-war politics of the 1870s. Disenchanted former samurai had established patriotic societies and intelligence-gathering organizations, such as the Gen'yōsha (玄洋社, "Black Ocean Society", founded in 1881) and its later offshoot, the Kokuryūkai (黒竜会, "Black Dragon Society" or "Amur River Society", founded in 1901). These groups became active in domestic and foreign politics, helped foment pro-war sentiments, and supported ultra-nationalist causes through the end of World War II. After Japan's victories over China and Russia, the ultra-nationalists concentrated on domestic issues and perceived domestic threats such as socialism and communism.

## Taishō foreign policy

[edit]

Kōfu city hall in 1918 (Taishō 7)

Emerging Chinese nationalism, the victory of the communists in Russia, and the growing presence of the United States in East Asia all worked against Japan's postwar foreign policy interests. The four-year Siberian expedition and activities in China, combined with big domestic spending programs, had depleted Japan's wartime earnings. Only through more competitive business practices, supported by further economic development and industrial modernization, all accommodated by the growth of the zaibatsu, could Japan hope to become dominant in Asia. The United States, long a source of many imported goods and loans needed for development, was seen as becoming a major impediment to this goal because of its policies of containing Japanese imperialism.

An international turning point in military diplomacy was the Washington Conference of 1921–22, which produced a series of agreements that effected a new order in the Pacific region. Japan's economic problems made a naval buildup nearly impossible and, realizing the need to compete with the United States on an economic rather than a military basis, rapprochement became inevitable. Japan adopted a more neutral attitude toward the civil war in China, dropped efforts to expand its hegemony into China proper, and joined the United States, Britain, and France in encouraging Chinese self-development.

In the Four-Power Treaty on Insular Possessions signed on December 13, 1921, Japan, the United States, Britain, and France agreed to recognize the status quo in the Pacific, and Japan and Britain agreed to formally terminate the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. The Washington Naval Treaty, signed on February 6, 1922, established an international capital ship ratio for the United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy (5, 5, 3, 1.75, and 1.75, respectively) and limited the size and armaments of capital ships already built or under construction. In a move that gave the Japanese Imperial Navy greater freedom in the Pacific Ocean, Washington and London agreed not to build any new military bases between Singapore and Hawaii.

The goal of the Nine-Power Treaty also signed on February 6, 1922, by Belgium, China, the Netherlands, and Portugal, along with the original five powers, was to prevent a war in the Pacific. The signatories agreed to respect China's independence and integrity, not to interfere in Chinese attempts to establish a stable government, to refrain from seeking special privileges in China or threatening the positions of other nations there, to support a policy of equal opportunity for commerce and industry of all nations in China, and to reexamine extraterritoriality and tariff autonomy. Japan also agreed to withdraw its troops from Shandong, relinquishing all but purely economic rights there, and to evacuate its troops from Siberia.

## End of the Taishō Democracy

[edit]

Overall, during the 1920s, Japan changed its direction toward a democratic system of government. However, parliamentary government was not rooted deeply enough to withstand the economic and political pressures of the 1930s, during which military leaders became increasingly influential. These shifts in power were made possible by the ambiguity and imprecision of the Meiji Constitution, particularly regarding the position of the Emperor in relation to the constitution.[citation needed]

## Timeline

[edit]

* 1912: The Crown Prince Yoshihito assumes the throne because of his father, Emperor Meiji's death (July 30). General Katsura Tarō becomes prime minister for a third term (May 26).
* 1913: Katsura is forced to resign, and Admiral Yamamoto Gonnohyōe becomes prime minister (February 20).
* 1914: Ōkuma Shigenobu becomes prime minister for a second term (April 16). Japan declares war on German Empire, joining the Allies side of World War I (August 23).
* 1915: Japan sends the Twenty-One Demands to China (January 18).
* 1916: Terauchi Masatake becomes prime minister (October 9).
* 1917: Lansing–Ishii Agreement goes into effect (November 2).
* 1918-20: Spanish flu pandemic began to devastate Japan, which killed 400,000 people.
* 1918: Siberian intervention launched (July). Hara Takashi becomes prime minister (September 29).
* 1919: March 1st Movement begins against Japanese colonial rule in Korea (March 1).
* 1920: Japan helps found the League of Nations.
* 1921: Prime Minister Hara is assassinated and he is succeeded by Takahashi Korekiyo (November 4). Crown Prince Hirohito becomes regent because his father, Emperor Taishō has an illness (November 29). Four-Power Treaty is signed (December 13).
* 1922: Five Power Naval Disarmament Treaty is signed (February 6). Admiral Katō Tomosaburō becomes prime minister (June 12). Japan withdraws troops from Siberia (August 28).
* 1923: The Great Kantō earthquake devastates Tokyo (September 1). Yamamoto becomes prime minister for a second term (September 2).
* 1924: Kiyoura Keigo becomes prime minister (January 7). Crown Prince Hirohito (the future Emperor Shōwa) marries Princess Nagako of Kuni (the future Empress Kōjun) (January 26). Katō Takaaki becomes prime minister (June 11).
* 1925: General Election Law was passed, all men above age 25 gained the right to vote (May 5). Besides, Peace Preservation Law is passed. Hirohito's first issue, Shigeko, Princess Teru is born (December 9).
* 1926: Wakatsuki Reijirō becomes prime minister (30 January). Emperor Taishō dies; He is succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Hirohito (December 25).

## Equivalent calendars

[edit]

By coincidence, Taishō year numbering just happens to be the same as that of the Minguo calendar of the Republic of China, and the Juche calendar of North Korea.

## Conversion table

[edit]

To convert any Gregorian calendar year between 1912 and 1926 to Japanese calendar year in Taishō era, subtract 1911 from the year in question.

Taishō | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV
AD | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926
MCMXII | MCMXIII | MCMXIV | MCMXV | MCMXVI | MCMXVII | MCMXVIII | MCMXIX | MCMXX | MCMXXI | MCMXXII | MCMXXIII | MCMXXIV | MCMXXV | MCMXXVI

## See also

[edit]

* Taishō Roman

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ HMS Argus pre-dated Hōshō and had a long landing deck, but was designed and initially built as an ocean liner. The first purpose-designed aircraft carrier to be laid down was HMS Hermes in 1918 but she was completed after Hōshō.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Nussbaum & Roth 2005, p. 929 at Google Books.
2. ^ Hoffman, Michael (July 29, 2012), "The Taisho Era: When modernity ruled Japan's masses", The Japan Times, p. 7.
3. ^ Lynn, Richard John (1994). The Classic of Changes. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-08294-0.
4. ^ Bowman 2000, p. 149.
5. ^ Dower, John W (1999), Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., p. 21.
6. ^ Hoffman, Michael, "'Taisho Democracy' pays the ultimate price", The Japan Times, July 29, 2012, p. 8
7. ^ Polmar, Norman (1 September 2006). Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events, Volume I: 1909-1945. Potomac Books, Inc. p. 35\. ISBN 978-1-57488-663-4. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
8. ^ Nakamura, T. (1997). "Depression, Recovery, and War, 1920–1945". In K. Yamamura (ed.). The Economic Emergence of Modern Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 116–158\. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511572814.004. ISBN 9780521571173.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Benesch, Oleg (December 2018). "Castles and the Militarisation of Urban Society in Imperial Japan" (PDF). Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. 28: 107–134\. doi:10.1017/S0080440118000063. ISSN 0080-4401. S2CID 158403519.
* Bowman, John Stewart (2000). Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231500043.
* Dickinson, Frederick R. War and National Reinvention: Japan in the Great War, 1914–1919 (Harvard Univ Asia Center, 1999).
* Duus, Peter, ed. The Cambridge History of Japan: The Twentieth Century (Cambridge University Press, 1989).
* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric; Roth, Käthe (2005), Japan Encyclopedia, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC 58053128. Louis-Frédéric is a pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Authority File, Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, archived from the original on May 24, 2012.
* Strachan, Hew. The First World War: Volume I: To Arms (Oxford University Press, 2003) 455–94.
* Takeuchi, Tatsuji (1935). War and Diplomacy in the Japanese Empire online free
* Vogel, Ezra F. (2019). China and Japan: Facing History excerpt

Attribution

* This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. "Japan". Country Studies. Federal Research Division.

## External links

[edit]

* Meiji Taisho 1868–1926 (in Japanese)

Preceded by

Meiji (明治)

|  Era of Japan
Taishō (大正)
30 July 1912 – 25 December 1926  | Succeeded by

Shōwa (昭和)

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Japanese era names (nengō) by period

538–1264

| Asuka| Heian| Heian (cont'd)| Heian (cont'd)| Heian (cont'd)| Heian (cont'd)| Kamakura (cont'd)

|
|
|
|
|
|

| 645–650| Taika

|

650–654| Hakuchi
686–686| Shuchō
701–704| Taihō
704–708| Keiun
708–715| Wadō
Nara
715–717| Reiki
717–724| Yōrō
724–729| Jinki
729–749| Tenpyō
749| Tenpyō-kanpō
749–757| Tenpyō-shōhō
757–765| Tenpyō-hōji
765–767| Tenpyō-jingo
767–770| Jingo-keiun
770–781| Hōki
781–782| Ten'ō
782–806| Enryaku

| 806–810| Daidō

|

810–824| Kōnin
824–834| Tenchō
834–848| Jōwa
848–851| Kashō
851–854| Ninju
854–857| Saikō
857–859| Ten'an
859–877| Jōgan
877–885| Gangyō
885–889| Ninna
889–898| Kanpyō
898–901| Shōtai
901–923| Engi
923–931| Enchō
931–938| Jōhei
938–947| Tengyō
947–957| Tenryaku
957–961| Tentoku
961–964| Ōwa

| 964–968| Kōhō

|

968–970| Anna
970–973| Tenroku
973–976| Ten'en
976–978| Jōgen
978–983| Tengen
983–985| Eikan
985–987| Kanna
987–988| Eien
988–990| Eiso
990–995| Shōryaku
995–999| Chōtoku
999–1004| Chōhō
1004–1012| Kankō
1012–1017| Chōwa
1017–1021| Kannin
1021–1024| Jian
1024–1028| Manju
1028–1037| Chōgen
1037–1040| Chōryaku

| 1040–1044| Chōkyū

|

1044–1046| Kantoku
1046–1053| Eishō
1053–1058| Tengi
1058–1065| Kōhei
1065–1069| Jiryaku
1069–1074| Enkyū
1074–1077| Jōhō
1077–1081| Jōryaku
1081–1084| Eihō
1084–1087| Ōtoku
1087–1094| Kanji
1094–1096| Kahō
1096–1097| Eichō
1097–1099| Jōtoku
1099–1104| Kōwa
1104–1106| Chōji
1106–1108| Kajō
1108–1110| Tennin
1110–1113| Ten'ei

| 1113–1118| Eikyū

|

1118–1120| Gen'ei
1120–1124| Hōan
1124–1126| Tenji
1126–1131| Daiji
1131–1132| Tenshō
1132–1135| Chōshō
1135–1141| Hōen
1141–1142| Eiji
1142–1144| Kōji
1144–1145| Ten'yō
1145–1151| Kyūan
1151–1154| Ninpei
1154–1156| Kyūju
1156–1159| Hōgen
1159–1160| Heiji
1160–1161| Eiryaku
1161–1163| Ōhō
1163–1165| Chōkan
1165–1166| Eiman

| 1166–1169| Nin'an

|

1169–1171| Kaō
1171–1175| Jōan
1175–1177| Angen
1177–1181| Jishō
1181–1182| Yōwa
1182–1184| Juei
1184–1185| Genryaku
Kamakura
1185–1190| Bunji
1190–1199| Kenkyū
1199–1201| Shōji
1201–1204| Kennin
1204–1206| Genkyū
1206–1207| Ken'ei
1207–1211| Jōgen
1211–1213| Kenryaku
1213–1219| Kempo
1219–1222| Jōkyū

| 1222–1224| Jōō

|

1224–1225| Gennin
1225–1227| Karoku
1227–1229| Antei
1229–1232| Kangi
1232–1233| Jōei
1233–1234| Tenpuku
1234–1235| Bunryaku
1235–1238| Katei
1238–1239| Ryakunin
1239–1240| En'ō
1240–1243| Ninji
1243–1247| Kangen
1247–1249| Hōji
1249–1256| Kenchō
1256–1257| Kōgen
1257–1259| Shōka
1259–1260| Shōgen
1260–1261| Bun'ō
1261–1264| Kōchō

1264–present

| Kamakura (cont'd)| Nanboku-chō| Nanboku-chō| Muromachi (cont'd)| Momoyama| Edo (cont'd)| Modern Japan

|
|
|
|
|
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| 1264–1275| Bun'ei

|

1275–1278| Kenji
1278–1288| Kōan
1288–1293| Shōō
1293–1299| Einin
1299–1302| Shōan
1302–1303| Kengen
1303–1306| Kagen
1306–1308| Tokuji
1308–1311| Enkyō
1311–1312| Ōchō
1312–1317| Shōwa
1317–1319| Bunpō
1319–1321| Gen'ō
1321–1324| Genkō
1324–1326| Shōchū
1326–1329| Karyaku
1329–1331| Gentoku
1331–1334| Genkōa
1332–1333| Shōkyōb

| Northern Court

1334–1338| Kenmu
1338–1342| Ryakuō
1342–1345| Kōei
1345–1350| Jōwa
1350–1352| Kannō
1352–1356| Bunna
1356–1361| Enbun
1361–1362| Kōan
1362–1368| Jōji
1368–1375| Ōan
1375–1379| Eiwa
1379–1381| Kōryaku
1381–1384| Eitoku
1384–1387| Shitoku
1387–1389| Kakei
1389–1390| Kōō
1390–1394| Meitokuc

| Southern Court

1334–1336| Kenmu
1336–1340| Engen
1340–1346| Kōkoku
1346–1370| Shōhei
1370–1372| Kentoku
1372–1375| Bunchū
1375–1381| Tenju
1381–1384| Kōwa
1384–1392| Genchūc
Muromachi
1394–1428| Ōei
1428–1429| Shōchō
1429–1441| Eikyō
1441–1444| Kakitsu
1444–1449| Bun'an
1449–1452| Hōtoku

| 1452–1455| Kyōtoku

|

1455–1457| Kōshō
1457–1460| Chōroku
1460–1466| Kanshō
1466–1467| Bunshō
1467–1469| Ōnin
1469–1487| Bunmei
1487–1489| Chōkyō
1489–1492| Entoku
1492–1501| Meiō
1501–1521| Bunki
1504–1521| Eishō
1521–1528| Daiei
1528–1532| Kyōroku
1532–1555| Tenbun
1555–1558| Kōji
1558–1570| Eiroku
1570–1573| Genki

| 1573–1592| Tenshō

|

1592–1596| Bunroku
1596–1615| Keichō
Edo
1615–1624| Genna
1624–1644| Kan'ei
1644–1648| Shōhō
1648–1652| Keian
1652–1655| Jōō
1655–1658| Meireki
1658–1661| Manji
1661–1673| Kanbun
1673–1681| Enpō
1681–1684| Tenna
1684–1688| Jōkyō
1688–1704| Genroku
1704–1711| Hōei
1711–1716| Shōtoku
1716–1736| Kyōhō

| 1736–1741| Genbun

|

1741–1744| Kanpō
1744–1748| Enkyō
1748–1751| Kan'en
1751–1764| Hōreki
1764–1772| Meiwa
1772–1781| An'ei
1781–1789| Tenmei
1789–1801| Kansei
1801–1804| Kyōwa
1804–1818| Bunka
1818–1830| Bunsei
1830–1844| Tenpō
1844–1848| Kōka
1848–1854| Kaei
1854–1860| Ansei
1860–1861| Man'en
1861–1864| Bunkyū
1864–1865| Genji
1865–1868| Keiō

| 1868–1912| Meiji

|

1912–1926| Taishō
1926–1989| Shōwa
1989–2019| Heisei
2019–present| Reiwa

* a Not recognized by the Northern Court, which retained Gentoku until 1332.
* b Not recognized by the Southern Court.
* c Genchū discontinued upon reunification of the Northern and Southern Courts in 1392 and Meitoku retained until 1394.

* v
* t
* e

Empire of Japan

Overview|

* Agriculture
* Censorship
* Demographics
* Economy
* Economic history
* Education
* System
* Eugenics
* Foreign commerce and shipping
* Industrial production
* Militarism
* Nationalism
* Essentialism
* Politics
* Statism
* State Shinto
* Kazoku

Emperors|

* Meiji (Mutsuhito)
* Taishō (Yoshihito)
* Shōwa (Hirohito)

Symbols|

* Flag of Japan
* Rising Sun Flag
* National seals of Japan
* Imperial Seal
* Government Seal
* State Seal
* Privy Seal
* Kimigayo

Policies|

* Constitution
* Charter Oath
* Foreign relations
* Imperial Rescript on Education
* Imperial Rule Assistance Association
* Yokusan Sonendan
* Great Japan Youth Party
* Kokutai
* Mokusatsu
* National Spiritual Mobilization Movement
* Peace Preservation Law
* Political parties
* Supreme Court of Judicature
* Tokkō
* Tonarigumi
* Greater East Asia Conference
* Senbu
* Imperial Japanese Airways

Government|

Administration
(ministries)

* Imperial Household
* Home Ministry
* War
* Army
* Navy
* Treasury
* Foreign Affairs
* Agriculture and Commerce
* Commerce and Industry
* Munitions
* Colonial Affairs
* Greater East Asia
* East Asia Development Board (Kōain)

|

Legislative and
deliberative bodies

* Daijō-kan
* Privy Council
* Gozen Kaigi
* Imperial Diet
* Peers
* Representatives

Military|

Armed Forces

* Imperial General Headquarters
* Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office
* Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff
* Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors
* Senjinkun military code
* Nuclear weapons program
* Kamikaze
* War crimes
* Supreme War Council
* Conscription

|

Imperial Japanese Army

* General Staff
* Air Service
* Railways and Shipping
* Imperial Guard
* Imperial Way Faction (Kōdōha)
* Japanese holdout
* Taiwan Army of Japan
* Control Faction (Tōseiha)
* Kempeitai

Imperial Japanese Navy

* General Staff
* Air Service
* Marines
* Tokkeitai
* Fleet Faction
* Treaty Faction

History|

Meiji era

* Meiji Restoration
* Beipu uprising
* Boshin War
* Two Lords Incident
* Satsuma Rebellion
* First Sino-Japanese War
* Triple Intervention
* Boxer Rebellion
* Anglo–Japanese Alliance
* Russo-Japanese War
* Invasion of Taiwan (1874)
* Invasion of Taiwan (1895)

|

Taishō era|

* World War I
* Entry
* Siberian Intervention
* General Election Law
* Washington Naval Treaty
* Manchuria–Mongolia problem
* Taishō Democracy
* Taishō Roman
* Tapani incident
* Truku War
* Racial Equality Proposal

Shōwa era|

* Shōwa financial crisis
* Jinan incident
* London Naval Treaty
* Musha Incident
* Pacification of Manchukuo
* January 28 incident
* Motherland controversy
* Anti-Comintern Pact
* Second Sino-Japanese War
* Soviet–Japanese border conflicts
* Rape of Nanking
* Tripartite Pact
* Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact
* Japan during World War II
* Pacific War
* Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
* Soviet–Japanese War
* Surrender (Potsdam Declaration, Hirohito surrender broadcast)
* Occupation

Territories|

| Colonies|

* Karafuto (naichi after 1943)
* Chōsen
* Kantō-shū
* Nan'yō
* Taiwan

|

Puppet states|

* Manchukuo
* Mengjiang
* Wang Jingwei regime
* Second Philippine Republic
* Empire of Vietnam
* State of Burma
* Azad Hind

Occupied territories|

* Borneo
* Burma
* Dutch East Indies
* French Indochina
* Hong Kong
* Malaya
* Philippines
* Singapore
* Thailand

Ideology|

* Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
* Yen bloc

Other topics|

* Fukoku kyōhei
* German pre–World War II industrial co-operation
* Hakkō ichiu
* Hokushin-ron
* International Military Tribunal for the Far East
* Internment camps
* Japanese settlers in Manchuria
* Nanshin-ron
* Political dissidence
* Shinmin no Michi
* Shōwa Modan
* Socialist thought
* Sonnō jōi
* Taiwanese Imperial Japan Serviceman
* Yasukuni Shrine

* v
* t
* e

Foreign relations of Japan

Bilateral relations

| Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Botswana
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Ethiopia
* Kenya
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Nigeria
* Somalia
* South Africa

|

Americas|

* Argentina
* Barbados
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Cuba
* Ecuador
* Guatemala
* Honduras
* Mexico
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* East Timor
* Georgia
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Israel
* Laos
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* North Korea
* Pakistan
* Palestine
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Turkey
* Vietnam

Europe|

* Albania
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Holy See
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Malta
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* Poland
* Portugal
* Russia
* Serbia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom

Oceania|

* Australia
* Fiji
* New Zealand
* Palau
* Tonga

Former|

* Russian Empire
* Soviet Union
* Yugoslavia

Multilateral relations

* Africa
* Arab world
* Latin America
* Oceania
* Southeast Asia
* European Union
* United Nations

Diplomatic history

* Missions to Imperial China
* Red seal ships
* Nanban trade
* Sakoku
* Joseon missions to Japan
* Japanese missions to Joseon
* Dutch missions to Edo
* Ryukyuan missions to Edo
* Foreign relations of Meiji Japan
* Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
* Korea
* China
* Marcos scandals

Territorial disputes

* Japan–Korea Joint Development Zone
* Kuril Islands dispute
* Liancourt Rocks dispute
* Senkaku Islands dispute

Related topics

* Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* Minister for Foreign Affairs
* Diplomatic missions of Japan / in Japan
* Development assistance
* JICA
* JOCV
* Economic relations
* JETRO
* JPEPA
* Pacific Alliance Leaders Meeting

Authority control databases: National |

* United States
* Japan
* Israel

|

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